Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 291, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 December 1916 — KEEPING APPLES IN WINTER [ARTICLE]

KEEPING APPLES IN WINTER

The old way of keeping apples during the winter is by burying in a pit in the garden. The apples are placed in conical torn), some straw is ptft next to them and then * five or six Inches of earth outside the straw. A handful or two of straw, for ventilation, should be left uncovered on the top, and protected from rain for a time by an old bucket unturned; but when severe freezing takes place this opening is to be fully covered with earth. Apples may be successfully kept In the cellar, particularly if the quantity is not very large. In such case the main difficulty would be the variation of the temperature, which would frequently be too high. This can be partly remedied in the more moderate part of the time by opening the door in the night and keeping it shut in the daytime. •’ • The best way to keep apples is in a regular fruit house, particularly if the quantity Is,considerable. It should be partly underground, and the walls should be double, with a space of about twenty inches between, for some non-conductor of warmth —saw dust, for instance—and the celling must be double as well as the walls. In this condition the two essentials can be maintained: First, ventilation at will; second, complete control of the temperature, which should be near the freezing point Ventilation is best accomplished by conducting the outside air through a tunnel 10 or 15 Inches in diameter and 100 feet or more in length, and at a depth of al out four feet under the ground, before admitting it into the house. The outer end of the tunnel should be in the direction of the prevailing winds: southwest in many or most localities. And the building will do best on a hillside facing the same way. Both ends of the tunnel must be provided With tight-fitting doors, and with grating close enough to exclude small animals, when open. The aperture in the ceiling for the outward passage of the air requires the same arrangement. In localities where the winter is not steadily cold a good supply of ice will be necessary. This may be inside or on the outside, above; and in either case provision must be made for the passing off of water from the melting ice in warm weather. Where the winter temperature is low and steady, as in Michigan, Wisconsin, etc., ice will be unnecessary; as the outside air introduced through the tunnel in ventilation at proper Intervals can always be depended on to keep the room cool enough—say at about 36 degrees. In a large section es esun try, however —all south of 41 or 42 degrees latitude —it will not be safe to omit the ice. Even north of this ice will be valuable at times, keeping perishable summer fruits, not to mention the many domestic uses to which it may be applied. As to the size of the house, there should be plenty of room. Fifty by sixty feet and eight or ten feet high will hold over 500 bushels, in convenient bins around the walls, and leave ample space for assorting, barreling, etc. —better larger than this tnan smaller. If the ice is stored inside of the room, the center is the proper place for it; and whether In the room, or above it, the conditions necessary in keeping ice are to be observed. In the erection of the building, a workman who has had experience is to be preferred. In case one wishes to do the work himself (as some have intimated), it will pay to first examine a successful house of the kind.